Falling Apart
by TunaSFX
Summary: Because the truth is, no-one lives forever. Death is something that we all have to go through after all. Chapter 4: "As the Mist Clears" Warning: Character death. Don't like don't read. Please rate and review! No flaming please
1. The Sky is Falling

Falling Apart １

Title: Falling Apart

Chapter: 1 – The Sky is Falling

Author: Yuki949 and Rayshia

Rating: T

Pairings/Characters: Tsuna, mentions of other guardians and misc. characters, no pairings

Suggested Sountrack : "Prisoner of Love" - Utada Hikaru (The only reason why the lazy me wrote this fanfic is all because of this awesome video which was extremely insipiring).com/watch?v=ZShg89gw2h0

Warning(s): Blood, mild gore, character death and spoilers

Yuki: Well this is my first fanfic and my first KHR fanfic.

Rayshia: and I helped with it!!

Yuki: yes the credit goes to both of us. Disclaimers annoy me but here it is.

Disclaimer: We don't own KHR. Period. Half the characters would be dead if we did. And KHR would never be as good as it is today.

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Sawada "Tsuna" Tsunayoshi – Vongola Decimo – 25 years old – Sky Guardian

As soon as Tsuna stepped foot into the blindingly white mafia base to make so-called 'negotiations' with the rival familia's boss. His senses were all on alert, his hyper-intuition screaming in protest to his movements and tellin to get out of there as fast as his legs could carry him. It was bad enough to enter an enemy stronghold alone, but there was something even more threatening about this particularly headquarters than other. The head of the Vongola Familia had one of the most feared reputations in all of Italy. Some said that he could take on more than a dozen professional assassins all at once, yet emerge victorious and unscathed within five minutes. Tsuna knew that these rumors were simply exaggerations created out of mixed amounts of awe, respect and fear. It would take him at least ten minutes to do that.

The foreboding premonition that Tsuna received made all the hairs on the back of his neck rise slightly, and his eyes darted from spot to spot, on maximum alert. If even a feather had fell, or a droplet of sweat hit the ground, he would have known. Muscles tensed, and prepared to defend himself from attack at any angle, at any time, the brunette slowly made his way further within the soundless base.

He had found the lack of personnel and guards at the entrance suspicious. It was definitely a trap; there was no way any mafia boss would allow his home base to be left undefended like this. Tsuna's normally inaudible footsteps seemed to ring like thunder through the empty halls as he slowly made his way, step by careful step, into the belly of the beast.

As he progressed, he couldn't help but remember that incident long ago - or not so long ago, it was really quite relative - in which he had destroyed the Vongola rings. Though it had been the right choice back then, now, more than ever, the Sky Guardian wished that he could feel the familiar coolness of the metal band around his finger, just giving him some comfort, the knowledge that he always had an extra store of power somewhere, and knowing that no matter what happened, no one and nothing could take the right of being the Vongola boss and Sky Guardian away from him. But it wasn't there. And the brunette did not feel like much of a boss at all at that moment. It was almost as if he were a 15 year old boy again, scared and alone.

As he entered a corridor, walls, his surroundings still pure white, Tsuna could only hope that if things turned out badly then his plan would be put into motion. It had better work, the twenty-five year old thought to himself. There was no way that Byakuran would have simply summoned him here simply for 'peace negotiations'. If the man had his way, there was no way the young boss would leave the building alive. It was a foolish move for Tsuna to knowingly walk into a trap all by himself, but family was waiting outside, in case anything happened, and he didn't want any more people getting involved and hurt than necessary. He was the only one who needed to go. The brunette knew in his heart that no matter how hard his guardians tried… They would never reach him in time if the Millefiore decided to attack. He knew that Gokudera would blame himself, that Yamamoto would lose his smile for months, Hibari would be grieving deep inside even if he didn't show it, that Mukuro would be disappointed at the very least, that Chrome would cry, and that Ryohei would have a horrified Kyoko sobbing into her nii-chan's shirt. He would hurt them all if he died. But this was something that he had to do alone.

After a few minutes, Tsunayoshi entered a large ballroom-type space with arching french windows and a crystal chandelier susending from the ornate ceiling. He had expected to see a smiling Byakuran sitting on a large plush armchair or something awaiting his arrival, but was surprised. Surprised, but still on guard though. Around a foe as deadly as the Millefiore, one could never let their guard down. A sudden humming sound came from behind him, and the young man whipped around with lightening reflexes. A blurry, hazy figure with shocking white hair, however the face of a young man with a purple tattoo on one cheek, seemed to be standing in the room. It didn't take hyperintuition to tell that it was obviously a hologram. The fake Byakuran opened it's mouth and said in a voice that sounded like it had been recorded with a bad mic, " How nice of you to come, Tsunayoshi-kun. I knew that you would never decline an invitation to negotiate between families!" The voice sounded delighted, childish and innocent. All a mask for the dangerous man that lurked beneath the facade. " Now, Tsunayoshi-kun is smart, so you're probably on guard, right?" The hologram smiled. "Sadly, that won't help you much. You know that I'm not so nice as to actually want to negotiate a truce. This is the mafia, kid. So... Arriverdeci, Tsunayoshi-kun~"

As soon as the hologram had finished speaking, the beautiful French windows that Tsuna had taken note of earlier shattered, and the room was full of the sound of gunshots, lead flying. But the gunmen were too slow, and Sawada Tsunayoshi was not called thr Tenth Vongola Don for nothing. Calling upon years upon years of training and experience and instincts pounded into him by none other than Reborn, the brunette was able to evade most of the bullets, only a few nicking the tips of his hair. How predictable, Tsuna thought. Either Byakuran was losing his touch, or the Millefiore boss had something else planned. This was far too 'generic TV villain' for the marshmallow addict.

All of a sudden, there was an explosive sound and at that exact moment, the rain of bullets ceased. Tsuna slid to a stop on the polished marble floor of the ballroom. Looking at the door he saw that some sort of bomb had caused the entrance to collapse. Attempting to escape from the windows would be suicide since the gunmen were still there. He was effectively trapped. The young don wondered what happened. Had his guardians attacked the gunmen from outside?No, he heard no sounds of combat. Had they retreated, as part of a deadly scheme? Was the mansion being filled with poisonous gas this moment?That would be useless. The windows were shattered, so gassing would be ineffective. His hyperintuition told him that it wasn't an illusion, so what could be going on? The young man stood there, analyzing the situation, trying to figure out why was happening before 's question was soon answered when a second wave of bullets came pouring down on him. At first the brunette thought they had been reloading, but soon he came to a realization when the first bullet grazed his arm. These were bullets powered with sun flames, which granted them enhanced speed and homing abilities not unlike some missles. Tsuna would have stiffened in shock had the situation allowed it, but had he stopped or dropped his guard for even a moment, he would have been shot full of lead. After that, wave after wave of bullets came pelting down, until time started to blur for Tsuna and he couldn't tell how long he had been dodging them. As thr onslaught went on, his movements started to get sluggish, more sloppy, as he began to tire, and he became more and more vulnerable. He felt a bullet nick his arm while another grazed his leg. Soon, a piece of lead was embedded in his right shoulder while another had entered his side. His back had fallen victim to at least two, and the Vongola boss was only mortal. When a bullet hit the back of his knee, and another his stomach, the man collapsed on the ground, breathing heavy and erratic. At that exact moment, as if sensing his fall, the guns ceased fire.

Blood and various other bodily fluids grostequely oozed out of thr Sky Guardian's wounds. He knew that even if, by some stroke of miraculous luck, Ryohei were to arrive with his kangaroo and healing prowess right now, he had no chances of survival. His breathing was shallow, and his vision began to blur into a haze of white and red. Tsuna briefly reminisced about his life before Reborn. Back when the biggest dangers he had to face each day were the menacing school prefect with the tonfas, and his own mother. Back when his only worries were about his grades and Kyoko-chan. Back when he was a loser, but a safe, average, peaceful, middle-school loser. Then the Sun Arcobaleno had entered his life and changed everything. The brunette mentally mused at how much had changed. Sometimes he wondered about how he would have turned out had the infant never shown up in his house that fateful morning. But then- Tsuna would have smiled if he could at this point- If he had never met Reborn, he would have never met the best and most loyal friends he had ever had, his family-no, famiglia. Gokudera (His self-proclaimed right hand man, through and through), Yamamoto (Who would have thought that he really turned out to be a born hitman afterall?), Hibari (though the skylark would 'bite him to death' if he heard Tsuna call him a friend), Mukuro (Despite what he said, the illusionist never did possess him), Chrome (Anyone who called her 'Vongola's weakest guardian' ever again would meet a painful and slow death at her hands), Ryohei (Even if his "EXTREME!"s did get annoying, he was a faithful and strong friend), Lambo (It was a shame that he'd never live to see the Bovino as his twenty-five year old self ever again)... Dino, Basil, Fuuta, Haru and many more. Without them, without Reborn, Tsuna would still be that pathetic middle-schooler that couldn't pass a test if his life depended on it.

Reborn... A pang of pain shot through Tsuna's chest as he was brought out of his sweet, golden reverie and back into this cruel world. The Arcobaleno hitman was dead. Tsuna himself was going to die as well. Sawada Tsunayoshi was going to die here, in this white room with the bloodstained marble floor and shattered windows.

The Vongola Decimo prayed that his plan would work as he felt his lifeblood drain out of him. If it did... It would mean that he could spend just a bit longer on this earth with his famiglia. If it didn't work... The young man's eyelids began to grow heavy as his brain started shutting down. Tsuna wondered who would be the next Vongola boss if he died right here before the last bullet, from a trained sniper entered the base of his neck. (The bullet that Irie Shouichi made) Then everything went dark.

* * *

At the funeral of the Vongola Decimo, it is impossible to distinguish whether the wet faces are from tears or the rainfall. But there was only one thing clear. He was gone.....

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Please rate and review. There are hints in the story of who dies next. The reviewers will get cookies and credit in the next chapter because I will only continue once i get some reviews. ;)

-Yuki


	2. Rain, Rain, Go Away

Falling Apart ０２

Title: Falling Apart  
Chapter: 2 – Rain, Rain Go Away...  
Author: Yuki949 and Rayshia  
Rating: T  
Suggested Sountrack : "Prisoner of Love" - Utada Hikari, Final Fantasy XIII theme (piano)  
Warning(s): Blood, mild gore, character death and spoilers and maybe some OOC

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Deep in the heart of Italy, in a certain undisclosed location, lay a majestic mansion with blue tiled roofs and shining white painted walls. It's design hinted at Victorian influences as well as with a bit of Spanish villa style, with its arched windows and hallways. The pillars in supporting the roof inside the structure were hewn from the highest quality of white Italian marble, and the floor was so clean that you could see your reflection in it. Behind the towering structure was a beautiful, vast garden filled with a collection of botanical treasures from every corner of the globe. Except for white orchids. Strangely, that particular color of the refined flower was banned from the mansion grounds. The garden had many walkways, benches, arches and romantic spots, it was even complete with a huge hedge maze.

In the front of the mansion grounds was a gleaming white marble fountain with two cherubim hugging the sides of a huge clam with its mouth open, and a pair of fish on the side spitting out water as it splashed into the the bowl below. On the grand double doors of the mansion, there were also a pair of clam-like insignias above the door handles. Come to think of it, if you studied the mansion closely, there seemed to be an overall clam motif, as the shellfish design was reoccurring strangely often in the architecture. There were small clams carved into the edges of the window ledges and the bottoms of the pillars. If you looked from a bird's eye point of view, the aforementioned hedge maze was actually also in the shape of a clam. On the grand, brass gate that guarded the perimeters of the huge estate was a golden clam insignia. This gigantic, luxurious, shellfish-loving residence was none other than the Vongola mansion, home to prominent leaders of the renowned Vongola Famiglia, and of course, the one and only Vongola Nono. It had everything a Mafia boss would want, luxury, beauty, grandeur, and, most importantly of all, a top-notch world class security system as well as a secluded location  
One sunny, windy day, the Vongola Mansion was as peaceful as ever with the trees dancing in the breeze and the birds chirping. As one of the birds took to the sky, most likely to search for food, there was a sudden flash of light from an unknown source, and the next thing it knew, the bird dropped down to the ground, writhing in pain as fire devoured it. As if this were not bizarre enough of an incident, what killed the bird was not just any ordinary fire, but storm flames. The poor, innocent bird that just happened be at the wrong place at the wrong time died a painful and torturous death squirming and flailing on the ground as the flames slowly dissolved it.

The nearby bushes on the borders of the estate, which had been completely inconspicuous and unnoticable until now, suddenly rustled. Barely moments later, the source of the storm flames that had brought the bird from the previous paragraph to its untimely demise stepped out of the piece of greenery. It was a certain Millefiore White Spell A-rank officer otherwise known as Glo-Xinia. Behind him were hundreds, maybe even thousands of well trained C rank White Spell and B rank Black spell officers with weapons ablaze with flames. Remember that top-notch, world class security system that was mentioned before? Here is a short lesson in invasion tactics: No matter how good a security system is, it's useless if you have a spy to deactivate it for you. The Millefiore Mafioso stepped forward, his eye twitching out of habit and excitement as he took a deep breath of air. He felt confident and powerful. Today was the day the Vongola was going to fall, he was sure of it. The man broke into a charging run towards the majestic mansion, and behind him, all his men followed suit, each armed with one or two box weapons. The raid had begun.

Meanwhile, inside the said mansion, there was chaos. As per the Millefiore's scheme, the Vongola were taken by surprise, and had only discovered the mole when it was too late. Many of the guards outside the headquarters had already been killed, and inside, there was an outbreak of panic and madness. The Famiglia's only hope was their guardians. However, the odds weren't looking too good.

Gokudera Hayato, Guardian of the Storm Ring swore colorfully as he assessed the situation. Out of the seven remaining guardians, Hibari Kyouya was not in the base as he had been sent on a research mission regarding box weapons earlier that week, Chrome Dokura had not been seen in months, since the Tenth's death, Rokudo Mukuro was obviously still in Vendicare, and Lambo wasn't in Italy. The only ones that were currently able to defend the family from the attack were himself, Sasagawa Ryohei, and Yamamoto Takeshi.

"The only way we have any chance of surviving this is to evacuate everyone to the underground base…" The silver-haired man muttered to himself, on the verge of panic like most of the people inside the mansion. "But… There's not enough time… Those Millefiore are going to get here any moment, and there's no way just the three of us can fend them all off ourselves…" With a cry of frustration, the Storm Guardian smashed his forehead into a wall. "There's not enough time! We're all going to die!"

Little did he know, a certain hitman who had been listening to him this whole time came up behind the de-facto leader of the Vongola for the past few months. "So we need more time?" Yamamoto Takeshi asked calmly, face surprisingly relaxed for someone who's home was currently being raided. "… What if I was able to buy us more time?"

The green-eyed man glared at the Rain Guardian. "Shut up, idiot! What could you possibly do to-" The Italian stopped in the middle of his sentence as he understood was his companion was suggesting. "You're going to sacrifice yourself, aren't you?" he asked softly, the irritation in his eyes fading.

The Asian man managed a small humorless smile. "Well, it works, doesn't it?" Gokudera stared at him incredulously.

"No! There's no way I'm letting you go out and get yourself killed like that! It's you against all of them! You're going to get slaughtered! It's a suicide mission!" He protested, yelling at the Japanese Mafioso.

Yamamoto just smiled that bitter smile again as he turned around to face the door that lead out of the small meeting room they had all been huddled in. "I'll be a decoy while you and Ryohei get everyone else to safety," he said.

However, at this, the white-haired boxer from Namimori turned to the swordsman, pumping his fist in the air angrily. "No way! Real men don't run from battle when their loved ones are being threatened! We're coming with you!"

Takeshi's eyes sharpened into a glare as he stared at the other two guardians. "No," he ordered, his voice authoritative and uncharacteristically serious. "Ryohei, your sun flames have the healing factor, and we'll need you to take care of the survivors. Gokudera, your Sistema CAI has the highest defense power so you can watch their backs. I'm the only one who can do this. I have the highest attack power, and my rain flames can slow the Millefiore down. "

Gokudera stared at the back of his longtime friend, partner, and companion as he exited the room, never to return again.

Takeshi sighed as he hurried onto the battlefield that the grounds of the Vongola mansion had become. With practiced ease, his ring lit up with azure flames as he injected them into his box. With a flash of blue light, a swallow materialized and began to fly around the whole field, spreading rain flames onto the enemy. Most of the weaker Millefiore soldiers were either knocked out or frozen to the spot due to the sheer power and concentration of the flames. Some others were finished off by a certain rain flame-powered dog, or by the swordsman's blade. Yamamoto smirked slightly as he knocked out another Millefiore lackey. This power was to be expected, he was the rain guardian after all: The requiem rain that settles conflict, and cleanses the battlefield. But the Japanese man could not relax yet. He wasn't completely in the clear.

Still standing in the center of the battlefield as other smaller fights raged on on the side was none other than Glo-Xinia, holder of the Rain Mare ring. The Millefiore Mafioso smiled menacingly as he approached the Vongola Rain Guardian slowly and relaxed, as if he were taking a walk in the park. The only thing that disclosed his excitement was the way his left eye kept on twitching nonstop as he advanced.

"Did you honestly think that that pathetic display would subdue me, Yamamoto Takeshi?" The pink-come-purplette cackled, spitting the last two words like a curse. "There is no way you will defeat me, Vongola scum. You possess only a puny A-rank ring, I have an almighty Mare ring!"

Not wasting breath for words, Yamamoto dashed towards the glasses-wearing man, and attempted a slash to the solar plexus, however, this was easily dodged. Glo chuckled in a condensing manner. "You're strong, Yamamoto Takeshi, I'll give you that. If you had a better ring, you might actually have a chance of winning me. Too bad the Vongola rings are destroyed, you can thank your stupid boss for that." Glo-xinia chuckled again, but this time, his mirth was cut off.

On most occassions, Takeshi was an extremely carefree and patient person who was only angered at extreme circumstances. But this Millefiore, twitchy freak had tested his patience to its limits. He was used to being insulted himself. In fact, most of the time, he simply laughed it off. But insulting Sawada Tsunayoshi was in front of him was a completely different matter. Not only was the brunette his longtime best friend and boss. Considering what the Millefiore had done… This was unacceptable. At that moment, all the smaller, weaker Millefiore soldiers on the battlefield disappeared in his eyes. They didn't matter any more. All that mattered to Yamamoto was defeating this whip-using man. As Glo-xinia laughed, Yamamoto suddenly sunk his fist into the man's chin, performing a spectacular uppercut that would have done Ryohei proud. (And most likely would have made the Sun Guardian want to recruit him for the boxing club back in the days of their youth.)

"Y-you bastard!" Glo-xinia sputtered taking several steps backward, eye twitching. "How dare you hit me with your filthy hands?" Glo-xinia screeched, outraged.

"By the end of this, these hands will be even more filthy when they are stained by your blood," The Vongola Rain Guardian retorted simply, glaring with his eyes narrowed at the Millefiore squad leader.

Unexpectedly, Glo simply tilted his head back and laughed. "Heh, you just try! This will be good exercise before dinner!"

With the speed of the samurai and ninjas of old, the swordsman ran forward with the Rain Swallow right by his side. Glo-xinia, in turn, whipped out his own box weapon, positioning the Gufo di Piogga as a shield. Shigure Souen Ryu Tenth Stance… Yamamoto thought to himself. Scontro di Rondine. The Rain flame user stabbed through the poor rain owl as he proceeded on to his enemy.

Shigure Souen Ryu, eighth stance… Shinotsuku A- The Asian man's train of thought was cut off when all of a sudden, he was tossed into the air, blood flying. Yamamoto managed to steady himself and land on his feet, but stumbled slightly. Crimson blood dripped onto the ground from the deep gash on his shoulder. Looking back at the Millefiore squad leader, the Vongola guardian was met with a surprise. Glo-Xinia's second box weapon: Kraken di Piogga. A huge hulking monstrosity of a squid, its tentacles laced with rain flames that cut and sliced all that they touched.

Despite his injury, Takeshi refused to give up, and came at the pinkette again with renewed vigour, striking with his Scontro di Rondine again and again. However, as the battle wore on, each side dealing and receiving damage, the Japanese couldn't help but notice small cracking sounds. Looking at his ring, the hitman's faced paled in shock when he saw small cracks spreading across it like spiderwebs. Apparently Glo-Xinia had noticed this as well.

"Your ring has reached its limit. Why don't you join us instead of dying? We have more powerful rings, unlike your dead boss, and we could use a man like you. Would your rather live or die?" The megane laughed, smirking the whole time as his eye continued to twitch.

"Over my dead body!" Yamamoto roared as he charged at his enemy again, putting all his remaining power into a final thrust. There was no way he would join. The twitchy bastard had made this personal. Not only had he attacked and killed scores of his comrades, the bastard had not only insulted Tsuna once, but twice. Unforgivable. "Shigure Souen Ryu, Final sta-" There was the sound of shattering glass as the ring on the swordsman's hand broke into pieces. All the blue flames lining his katana, as well the swallow in the air and the dog on the ground dissipated immediately.

Caught off guard, Yamamoto had only hesitated for a split second, but that was enough. There was a sharp pain in his abdomen, making him cry out, and the Mafioso could barely move his head to look down. Crimson, flowerlike patterns had splattered all over the white shirt he was wearing, painted by blood, and in the center, was a gigantic tentacle laced with rain flames.

The tentacle tossed its impaled victim to the side, like a broken doll, obsolete and uninteresting. As he hit the ground, Yamamoto felt a sharp pain through his entire body and blood trickled out of the corners of his mouth, but even then, amongst the chaos and cacophony, the only sound he could focus on through his daze was that of Glo Xinia's laughter. As the Rain Guardian's senses began to fade to nothing, he sensed the twitchy bastard leaving his to bleed to death.

As he struggled for air, breathing shallow and in irregular gasps, like a fish on land, vision blurring together, Yamamoto vaguely wondered if Gokudera, Ryohei and the others had made it to the underground base. He hadn't been able to stop the Millefiore, but he was able to lessen their forces and buy some time. Hopefully, that was enough.

Closing his eyes, Takeshi remembered back when he had thought that the Mafia was a role-playing game of some sort. Those days were long behind him, this was certainly no game anymore. When people died in games, they always came back to life. Not this time.  
Hacking coughs resounded through the air as blood flew from the Rain Guardian's lips. As the life slowly ebbed away from him, the swordsman thought of the regrets he had. If only he had been able to make sure that Gokudera and Ryohei and the rest of the guardians and the family were safe. If only he had been able to save Tsuna. If only he had been able to thank Squalo and Collonello and Reborn for all they had taught him. If only he could just see his father back in the sushi shop, behind the counter, making some order or the other, warm smile on his face and his knife steady chopping away at the ingredients in front of him…

Firing up a final, silent prayer to whatever, whoever could hear him, tears running down his face. Please… Tell the old man I'm sorry…

Yamamoto Takeshi dies there on the battlefield, blood pooling around him and face smeared with his own fluids and the dirt on the ground, with that signature, happy-go-lucky smile on his face.

-

Yamamoto Takeshi does not have a proper funeral. They never find his body. Nobody knows what happened to it. Whether the Millefiore took it, or if it had been eaten by Glo Xinia's kraken, it was simply never found. It was if his corpse had dissolved into nothing, like the morning mist.

==

A/n: Apologies for the wait, My editor was slacking off, cough*Rayshia*cough. I hope you haven't all lost interest yet. Once again, there are hints as to who's next. You all should be able to figure it out. Hope you enjoyed! The next chapter should be out soon.

~Rayshia the co author/editor  
Yuki949 the author


	3. As the Mist Clears Pt1

Title: Falling Apart

Chapter: 3 - As the Mist Clears Pt.1

Author: Yuki 949 and Rayshia

Fandom: Katekyo Hitman Reborn

Genre: Angst, Tragedy

Rating: T

Pairings/Characters: Leonardo Lippi, Byakuran, Rokudo Mukuro; No pairings

Warning(s): Spoilers

A/N

I AM SO SORRY! This was WAY past the due date. Er.. I don't own anything. If I did then all the main characters would be dead by now. And also please enjoy. This isn't really angst though. At least its still a bit of a tragedy.

Leonardo Lippi was a very unremarkable young Italian man. He had common black hair in a basic style, and rather dull gray eyes. While his job was officially the personal assistant of the boss of a very influential and feared mafia famiglia, Byakuran of the Millefiore, he was actually no more than a glorified secretary. Every day, his monotonous routine of duties was the same. In the morning, make sure that a mug of fresh, steaming black coffee from Byakuran's favorite brand was on the man's desk before he arrived. Late morning, watch Byakuran do nothing but harass Irie Shouichi through telephone, email or in person, and eat marshmallows and various other confectioneries. Expect to have run various errands (e.g. Fetching more marshmallows from the dessert vault, scheduling meetings, dragging Byakuran to said meetings). Noon, lunch break of half an hour, the only time of the day that the poor young man could rest. Afternoon, cue Byakuran losing interest in paperwork after only five pages, then skipping off to deliver a thousand flowers (Usually white anemones, which the snowy-haired man was partial to) to his favorite red-headed subordinate-come-abuse-target and then escape to random expensive restaurants to dine on gourmet delicacies and sweets. As the head of the most powerful Mafia family in the world since the raid the Vongola, which had caused the once-powerful family to go into hiding underground, Byakuran received a massive amount of paperwork each day. Most of which was left to the poor 'personal assistant' (read 'slave') to sort, sign (Leonardo had become very good at forging signatures during his time in the Millefiore) and often were responsible for many of the sleepless nights he spent. This was the tragic life of Leonardo Lippi in a nutshell.

To most of those who knew him, it was be no surprise when, one morning, instead of fetching his bosses' coffee, Leonardo Lippi walked towards Byakuran's office with a determined expression on his face and a resignation form in his hand. His plan was simple: Put the form on the desk where the slacker boss can find it easily, and then get out before he comes. Little did the poor boy know that his white-haired boss was already in his office. Little did the poor boy know that as soon as he stepped into the room, he was a dead man.

Upon entering the grandly-furnished room, Leonardo nearly did a double-take at the sight of his boss sitting calmly at his desk with his fingers laced together, almost expectantly, waiting for him. There had to be something wrong. Byakuran was at the office early. _**Early. **_That _never _happened. As he stepped in, he felt a small shiver down his spine, and a slight foreboding premonition, as if there were a disaster waiting to happen. He was too busy focusing on the fact that Byakuran had actually come to the office earlier than he did for the first time in the many years he had held the position of the marshmallow-addict's personal assistant to notice the slight pressure on his chest, the tugging sensation, and slight chill. These were mistakes that will prove very dear later on.

However, Leonardo was not given a chance to mull these things over, as a happy-go-lucky voice filled the room. "Leo-kun, you're late today. Something wrong?~" He chirps, eyes unnervingly fixed on the young man.

The personal assistant hesitated before building up the bravery to approach Byakuran's desk. As soon as he was could enough, he lay his resignation form on top of the menagerie of litter and paper that coated the mahogany wood. The boy accidentally used a bit too much force when placing the paper, and pretty much slammed it on the desk in front of Byakuran, and causing Leonardo to blush in embarrassment at his excessive action. Finally, he managed to look the older man in and eye, and in a shaky voice he announced, "Byakuran-sama, due to…" The young man's mind searched for a random excuse to quit. "Family reasons, I have to resign from my job as your personal assistant. My apologies."

Three seconds of silence pass, and Leonardo starts to think that he may actually make it out of this unscathed. The man before him hasn't called people to come and dispose of him yet, or blasted him into oblivion, and… This plan might actually work!

But all of a sudden, Byakuran's eyes narrowed and his smiles grew wider. "Aww, but Leo-kun... I don't think that I'll be letting you go so quickly~." The hairs on the back of young man's neck rose in fear and he couldn't help but feel his heart drop to the bottom of his stomach. "After all… You still have to fix the leak you made in the Millefiore database before you leave, don't you?~" The white haired man chirped.

The dark-haired man blanched, and took a step back in shock. "B-Byakuran-sama… What are you t-talking about?" He stuttered, eyes wide in horror. A scheming smile had planted itself on the Millefiore Boss' face, and purple eyes were staring directly at him.

"You honestly thought that we wouldn't notice? And that we wouldn't be able to trace it back to you?~" Tutting as if scolding a young child a cookie before mealtime, Byakuran condescendingly waggled a finger in the air. "How could you underestimate the world's most powerful mafia Famiglia like that?~ Our technicians are working on fixing the leak right now, but they are having a bit of trouble~. You certainly did not make it easy for them ~," He added in, almost as an afterthought.

However unlike chrome, Leonardo does not receive Mukuro's every single thought and idea. Therefore, oblivious to this, he went to the archives, hacked into the Millefiore database, and leaked the information to the Vongola data base. As expected of one of the Millefiore, the technicians spotted it immediately, Leonardo and Mukuro smirks, as the technicians try and fail again in their futile attempts to fix the leak. Meanwhile, Leonardo was striding to Byakuran's office to hand in his resignation form. Little did he know, that Byakuran was already setting up the spiritual barriers, that wouldn't even let thoughts out of the room.

Byakuran smirked and drawled, " Oh, don't you mean Famiglia, Leo-kun?~ Or should i say, Vongola Mist Guardian, Rukudo Mukuro?" Suddenly the room became colder and an indigo mist surrounded Leonardo. "Ku-fu-fu-fu-fu, I would prefer it if you didn't call me that. I don't want to fraternize with the Mafia, and even more so Sawada Tsunayoshi." As the purple mist dissipated, where Leonardo was standing , was Rokudo Mukuro. His dark blue hair pulled up in his signature pineapple hairstyle, wearing a long black trench coat and wielding his silver, black handled trident.

Mukuro hit the base of his trident on the ground, as pillars of fire erupted from the ground under Byakuran, he emerged with a smile on his face and said, "Illusions of that level won't work on me Mukuro-kun~," Mukuro laughed," Ku-fu-fu-fu... as expected of the Boss of the Millefiore. However don't fret because I was just warming up." As he was saying this, he took out 2 hell rings, and 2 box weapons. Then he whispered, "I have much more tricks up my sleeve."

Many hours later...

Gray smoke floated in clouds around the room, large holes were visible in the once tenuous wall, and the ceiling. The desk, sofa and other furniture, were either in pieces of burnt to a crisp. Byakuran stood tall, Mare Sky ring ablaze with flames. "Are you done warming up now?" He said, as he stared condescendingly at the crouching Mukuro who was clutching his bleeding right eye. "Kufufufu, well i shall be taking my leave now, it was truly interesting to cross blows with you, for now, Arrividerci. As Mukuro's spirit tried to leave, Leonardo, a sudden force prevented him from doing so. " W-w-what the hell is this?", the normally calm Mukuro stuttered slightly, also with his normally placid face twisted into a slight frown."Well, would you believe me if i said that this room has barriers that not only keep sound and light in, but also prevents thoughts from being transmitted. I'm sure you noticed when you stepped into the room.: said Byakuran. As Byakuran came closer and closer flame flickering on his finger and pulling out his box weapon. Mukuro thought "Dammit, even with 2 hell rings, I still couldn't land a blow on him.? I hope your safe Chrome..."

Little that he knew, that at the same time, Chrome was already inside the Vindiche prison trying to break him out. Byakuran sneered "This is the end for you, Mukuro-kun~."

Somewhere in Nammimori, if you listen closely you could hear the sound of a shattering trident.


	4. As the Mist Clears Pt2

Falling Apart 04

Author: Yuki949

Disclaimer: I don't own Katekyo Hitman Reborn(if I did, all the characters would be dead now)

My awesome friend SabbiiEatzCookies, helped me read it over and pointed out some grammar mistakes :D Go read her awesome story

Character Crack Death: Vongola Style

Take out the spaces : http:/ .net /s/7415981/1/ Character_Crack_Death_Vongola_Style

Chrome breathed a sigh while trudging through the snow in the mountains of Italy as she made her way to the Vindiche Underwater Prison. Not alone of course, she had the Kokuyo gang behind her. M.M, Kakimoto Chikusa, and Joshima Ken. Fortunately, they couldn't bring Birds because the man was too old to even jog, let alone trudge up a steep mountain with a temperature of at least -15C. This wasn't that bad of a weather condition if you leave out the many areas of thin slippery ice, deep snow, and a whipping blizzard to boot. It was an extremely difficult hike up the mountain with, frequent avalanches due to Ken's bad habits of shouting at people or saying his famous catchphrase "byon".

While Ken and Chikusa were busy bickering, they were getting closer and closer to the Vindiche underwater prison. Rumors say, that the prison is the haven of the damned and the world's most dangerous criminals. More importantly, it's a place where people who cannot be bound by the laws of the mafia world are tortured, executed or imprisoned in. The enigmatic members of the Vindiche travel the word in 3's in search of these criminals. Somewhere in the deepest level of this torturous hell, resided the person they would to retrieve. Rokudo Mukuro was convicted of the mass murder of the Estraneo Family, attacking the Vongola Decimo's territory and people, and for being a dangerous existence. Vindiche prison, again for being famous for its impenetrable walls, state of the art security, is also staffed with people who could only be fooled by 3 known illusionists in this world, Rokudo Mukuro being one of them, and the mysterious Arcobaleno, Viper of the Varia and one other person. This made breaking in, and coming out alive with a wanted criminal extremely difficult, maybe even impossible. But they had no other choice.

The plan for now was to have Chrome veil them in a blanket of powerful illusions and get inside. Chrome and Ken would go find Mukuro and free him, meanwhile M.M and Chikusa would go and hold off the enemy after they tampered with the security system. As for how they were going to get out, Chrome would play decoy while, everyone else escaped. Afterwards would follow after by using her real illusions. Truly a reckless plan however, Chrome had powered up over the years. Not the same girl she was 10 years ago, she had amassed enough power and skill to fool the Vindiche to a certain extent. Resulting in her being one of the unnamed people on Vindiche's list. Other unnamed people also included Fran of the Varia, and Uncle Kawahira, the owner of a shop in Namimori.

Arriving to the back area of the prison, everyone quieted down to observe their surroundings. It was a wall, towering around 50 stories tall above ground, and as wide as the gigantic Birds Nest stadium in Beijing. As the other members of the group continued gawking at the wall, M.M dug a small hole into the base of the wall and planted a few dozen explosives. Motioning everyone to step back, M.M pressed the trigger and at the exact same moment, Chrome activated her illusions, to hide the soon-to-be hole and muffle the explosion. As the dust cleared a small hole 1 meter in diameter was visible in the 10-meter steel wall. The group walked in sighing in relief, glad that they brought enough explosives to rival the Pinzu Time Bomb.

As the group entered the prison, they instantly felt the foreboding and suffocating atmosphere. Even the previously arguing Ken and Chikusa, and M.M complaining how dirty her clothes were fell silent. The only sound audible was the sound of the their muffled footsteps and the torturous screams of the prisoners screaming for salvation they will never have. The interior of the prison was similar to the old black and white movies where everything was in gray-scale. Mustering up her courage, Chrome lightly tapped the base of her trident on the cold floor and covered the hole in the wall, tapping the floor once more; she blanketed the whole group with illusions strong enough to work from a long distance as a safety precaution should they encounter any enemies on the way.

Chikusa and M.M split off from group and made their way to where the prison archives were. The Vindiche archives, rivaling the world renowned Fuuta de Stella's ranking book, was famous for their vast load of data on every single prisoner in existence. This deemed it necessary going inside to search for Rokudo Mukuro's data. At the same time, Ken was walking around, making a mental map of the place, should they need to escape while Chrome, walking next to him, waited for M.M and Chikusa to tell her of Rokudo Mukuro's whereabouts in the prison. The buzzing communicator sounded and Mukuro's whereabouts were relayed to Chrome. They continued moving forward.

They walked for 2 hours straight, turning multiple times in the labyrinth-like halls of the underwater prison. Right before they reached the supposed area of where Mukuro was contained, Chrome cast a second layer of illusions over the both of them. Nearing the individual water cells, the temperature continued to drop to the point that the pair could see their breaths as smoke in the chilling air. Chrome froze, and motioned to Ken to stop moving.

_Tap_

_Tap_

Blood pounding in their ears, they held their breaths as a shadow walked out from behind one of the cells. As the shadow moved into what little light the prison had, Chrome and Ken sighed silently in relief. It was a Vindiche staff, but this member of staff seemed human, the male was all clothed in black, but didn't have any bandages obscuring his face like the other Vindiche did. More importantly, instead of the rustling of heavy metal chains from under his sleeves, the man made no sound other than the sound of his footsteps. Supposedly, this man was a low-level trainee. Continuing the observation, the pair watched as the Vindiche trainee continued moving in the same direction as they did. Hoping that they were correct, the pair followed behind him silently. Behold, the trainee arrived at their target, Rokudo Mukuro's cell.

For the first time in her life, Chrome met Mukuro in person, but she never expected a meeting like this. Mukuro, suspended in the freezing water, was unconscious. His now long, ultramarine hair floated around him like some sort of sick twisted halo. Traveling her eyes across his face, Chrome felt a stab of pity for him as she saw his right eye covered with machinery and various needles impaling the said eye underneath most likely to seal his power. His other eye was stapled shut, and the rest of his face was obscured by a gas mask, supplying necessary oxygen through his body. His clothes, or what was left of it, hung around his torso in tatters. IV's and needles could be seen coming out of his arms locked together by heavy metal shackles. Even more wires were seen connected to almost every part of his body, most likely to supply the bare minimum of nutrients and to conduct experiments on his body. His waist and below were bound together by think clunky chains.

The trainee climbed to the top of Mukuro's tank and opened the lid. Before he could reach in, an overwhelming anger overtook Chrome, and she rushed forward to knock him out with her trident as if to say, "Don't touch him". As her initial anger dissipated, she and Ken carefully lifted Mukuro out of the cell. Stray tears streamed down her face as she removed the torturous machinery as best as she could, leaving the oxygen for last. Leaving Ken to carry Mukuro, she dumped the Vindiche trainee in and wrapped him in an illusion to make it seem as though Mukuro never ventured out of his cell. This was complex since Chrome was already managing 3 illusions at once, and adding one more would start taking its toll on her. She estimated that she could only hold off exhaustion at bay for only 1 to 2 hours, so they had to hurry.

_Crack_

Breaking out into a run, they rushed back the way they came. After reaching the halfway point, she signaled to Chikusa and M.M to meet up at the entrance they came through. The plan was going well, and nothing was going wrong, yet.

_Crack_

Nearing the entrance, they spotted M.M's bright red hair; she turned around and gave a small smile, happy that they had succeeded in their mission. Chikusa sighed

"Lets go, the faster we get home the faster I can take a bath"

"Kaki-pi you're so obsessed with baths byon."

"Shut up guys, we haven't gotten out yet so don't act so happy!"

_Crack_

Chrome gave a small smile as she faced the entrance and prepared to lift the illusion and make their escape.

_Crack_

The trident made one last deafening crack before it shattered into countless shards of wood and metal. Chrome's visible eye widened before her face contorted in pain from the loss of control of her illusions. Crumpling onto the floor, breath coming out in shallow gasps, her stomach caved in and a trail of blood trickled down the corner of her lips. The other illusions were all lifted off, including the ones protecting the group, and the ones masking the Vindiche trainee in Mukuro's cell. Alarms blared deafeningly in the air as the Vindiche were alerted of intruders and escapees. A cold misty fog surrounded the group, as the 3 feared members of the Vindiche assembled before them.

"Shit, how did they get here so fast?"

The whole group thought as they stared in shock at the 3 figures. One of which had some black hair poking out of the bandages and one golden eye showing through. Bermuda Von Vichtenstien stepped forward and intoned,

"Allies of Rokudo Mukuro, I hereby convict you of illegally breaking into Vindiche Underwater Prison, assaulting the staff, and attempted escape with the convict Rokudo Mukuro"

"Go! Take him with you!"

The 3 remaining members of the group whipped their heads around to look at Chrome who was now sitting up, struggling into a standing position.

"But-"

"Go!"

Giving one final cry, Chrome slammed the base of her trident against the ground and towers of fire burst forth from the ground, engulfing the 3 Vindiche. Alas, the illusions had no effect. The moment Ken, Chikusa, and M.M hesitated, shackles shot out from out of the Vindiche's black sleeves and clamped around Ken's neck and limbs, restraining him. Screaming, he retaliated violently in vain as he was slowly dragged into the black abyss. The same fate was dealt with Chikusa as he rushed forward to attack, only to be dragged in as well. Without hesitation, M.M darted out of the entrance and into the raging blizzard outside. Chrome, coughed one final mouthful of blood and fell onto the cold ground.

The Vindiche made no move to capture her, instead they retreated back into the depths of the prison. The Vindiche never retreated unless they couldn't capture a prisoner. Knowing that her time was coming to its end, she looked up and her eyes met with the grey steel ceilings.

"_I don't want to die"_

Surprised by this thought, a lone tear slipped out of her eye as she realized that even though she was ready to sacrifice herself for her comrades, she didn't want to die, not like this.

"_I don't want to die"_

Her life was literally draining out of her and black was creeping in at the edge of her vision.

"_I don't want to die…Not like this."_

Regret. She had so many regrets. Regret that she couldn't save Mukuro, who had saved the insignificant Her, in a car accident and for teaching her how to use illusions. Regret that she couldn't see Boss and the others again.

"_No"_

She couldn't even move, speak or see anymore, slipping into the oblivion. Despair. She felt despair. Even if she did succeed in saving Mukuro, his soul wouldn't be there. It was long gone, ever since her trident shattered.

"_We will meet again the next cycle"_

She thought, tears streaming out, as she unwillingly fell into the open arms of death.

EPILOGUE: M.M's fate

_thud thud_

A small figure could be seen trudging down the snowy peaks.

_Thud Thud_

Bright red hair, matted with dark and frozen blood whipped around in the wind. Reaching the base of the mountain, and entering a small lodge hidden in some trees, the red headed figure collapsed. M.M, the only survivor from the failed rescued mission fled without a thought. She continued the journey downhill, only to collapse at the base of the mountain, energy spent, and blood staining the pure white snow.

_I just left all of them there… even Mukuro._

_Hehe…that's not a surprise, the only thing that matters the most to me in the world is money after all._

Images of their faces contorted in fear, hands reaching out to her, pleading.

_Stop!_

Blood spattering as she attempted to flee from the scene, faces burned into her mind, a round face with amethyst colored eyes, a sharp and serious face with glasses, and lastly a face with animalistic features. All pleading

_Help us!_

No.

_Help us…_

NO LEAVE ME ALONE!

Images were flashing across her eyes, mostly faces, all of them recognizable. Now tormented by guilt, M.M continued her way, a broken soul, looking at the unnaturally cloudless heavens.

~End~

Hopefully you...enjoyed…their suffering? This is my attempt at angst which I suck at.


End file.
